Despite making resolutions for change, to start new habits and eschew old ways, the undertow of the familiar, ordinary routine is just too hard to resist. But then, like a twisted superhero, Detarou appears on the scene with yet another escape from the mundane, once again beckoning you to look in places you really don't want to look, trapping you inside a house occupied by as much weirdness as puzzles with Uchino.

Some of you are already quite well acquainted with Detarou, the one who everybody at the party makes excuses for: "Yeah, that's the same ol' Det, wacky as ever. What can you do? But we love him!" For the rest of you, let me explain: you begin the game facing a door—go ahead, try it. It's locked. So your goal is to search the surroundings, pointing and clicking with a changing cursor as your guide, searching for anything that'll help you get out, which is the typical scenario in all these escape-the-room types. Yet Uchino, like other Detarou entries, departs from the typical fairly quickly. Not only do you find clues and creative locks during your explorations, you'll discover things that are there simply for the sake of your discovering them. Depending on your point of view, this might not always be a welcome thing (small hint: odd doesn't begin to explain it.)

Uchino turns out to be on the challenging end of the spectrum, as well, because all rooms of the house are open to you, allowing you to spend a looooong time looking round and gathering up information and other goodies ("Nakagawa get!") before you even have to solve a puzzle. The trouble comes in trying to sift through an overabundance of things to see, so that determining which ideas fit with what solutions can cause you overthinking syndrome. Ignore all the misdirection, though, and the perfect logic of every puzzle comes into clear focus.

Before you begin, here's another little hint: no matter how cute or friendly they may look, pandas are always up to no good. Therefore, utilize those two save slots before you go poking proffered buttons, that way finding all three endings will be much more convenient without unnecessary backtracking. Use a screen grab program or pen and paper to sort out answers, shape up those synapses, and resolve to indulge in uncomfortable laughter and you're well on your way to a fresh new Detarou outlook.

You are facing a locked door; it's the way out but you don't (yet) have the key. So, begin by turning left.

Now you face the start of a hallway. On one side is a set of cubbies, another is a cabinet and, in the rug, is a lump. Click on the rug lump:

Here's a little pink tail. Click on the edge of the rug to see what's underneath...

Now click on the pink wig...

Pick up the PAPER from on top of his head:

It's a clue. Note the symbols, dots and colors as well as the darkened square in the right corner. Then, put it away.

Back up.

Look closer at the 5 cubbies/shelves on the wall:

Four of the shelves each have a statue:

Note the shape of each statue, then look underneath for what is marked there.

Next, examine the top left cubby:

It needs a four digit code. That piece of paper seemed to provide part of the clue, but the clues we've found so far don't give us the correct code... we still need to look around for more information.

back up from the cubbies.

Examine the wall cabinet to the right of the hallway entrance:

First look in the two drawers:

Get UCHI NAKAGAWA 1 (of 9) from the left drawer.

Then check out the lock on the cabinet doors:

The top row of buttons change the colors while the bottom buttons change the numbers.

(We have enough information to open this cabinet but I'll include the solution a little later on in this walkthrough.)

Back up twice.

Go down the hallway into the kitchen. Here you see a shakey fellow wearing a horse mask. Let's ignore him and look in the kitchen sink by clicking the teapot area on the right:

Behind the faucet is another UCHI NAKAGAWA (2/9). Get him!

Back out of the kitchen area and turn left. Here you see a grey box with a smiley face, the opening to another part of the room, and another door. First examine the grey smiley face box:

Looks like you can push the smiley face like a button and there's room for three round objects so come back when you've found them.

Back up.

Go into the other part of the room to see a long cabinet with a tubes device on top. Explore all angles of this thing:

Notice that you can open all the cabinet's doors but you won't find anything underneath except, in the middle, a box that needs a key.

On top, there is a hole on the left end and top of the tubes.

There is a very distraught uchi nakagawa. If only there was a way to reach that red button!

Back up from the cabinet and turn left. Go through the door into another hallway. Now you're facing yet another door...open it to enter the shower area:

Move forward then click on the drain in the floor...

Click on the drain cover to remove it:

Pick up UCHI NAKAGAWA (3/9) from inside the hair-filled drain.

Back up twice and turn left just to see what's there.

Then go left and back out of the shower area.

Turn right to face the bathroom sink area. Click the sink to look inside:

Get the UCHI NAKAGAWA (4/9) who's brushing his teeth.

Back up from the sink and open the door next to it to see what's in the toilet area:

To the left of the two guys (whose conversation you rudely interrupted) is something useful...

Take the STICK.

After backing out of the toilet area, turn left twice to face the laundry nook:

Look in the basket of undershorts:

Under the first layer is NAKAGAWA (5/9) so take him.

Then, dig deeper because under the third layer of shorts is NAKAGAWA (6/9)!!! Get him, too.

Back up, turn right, back up out of the backroom, then turn right two more times to peek out the glass doors (just for the fun of it).

When you're ready, turn left and back up into the main part of the livingroom again.

Turn left until you're facing the stairway to the upper level of the house. Here you can also see a small white cabinet. Take a closer look at it:

Nothing is inside the cabinet's bottom door.

There's a wooden box with a sun design on top of the cabinet; it has a button in each of the four corners.

Look in the top drawer of the white cabinet:

Get the UCHI NAKAGAWA (7/9) who's snuggling with the doll.

Back up.

Go upstairs by clicking the stairway then clicking the top of the stairs.

If you press the panda man's button, though, you can launch the toga panda into the ceiling, too!

*If you've pressed the correct red button before getting this nakagawa, then you might find him on the floor, instead.

Turn left twice from the panda area to see a large golden statue (Psy?). Look closer:

Click twice to look inside the box at the statue's feet:

There are 18 foot-shaped marks on the box. Significant?

Back up then look at what the statue holds behind his head. Something red is up there:

Using the STICK, get the red item...

...it's a RED BALL!.

Back up from the golden statue, turn right, back up three times to go down the stairs, and now you're ready to start cracking codes and solving puzzles!

Upper Left Cubby (Wall Shelves)

Back downstairs, turn around until you're facing the lump in the rug. Then, zoom in on the five-cubbies/shelves on the left.

Enter the 4-digit code to open the cubby door.

The solution to this is pretty straight-forward (you saw it upstairs).

ANSWER:

The statue upstairs on the right pillar has four numbers upside down. Just turn them around to get...

5 4 1 9

Press the buttons under the numbers to change them to the numbers you want.

If you've entered the correct code, when you press the bottom rectangular button, the door will pop open:

Here is clue...some numbers on a cross-shape with a sun in the middle.

Click on the statue to turn it over and you'll see another clue underneath its base.

Make a note of what you see.

Wall Cabinet (4-digit color numbers)

To the left of the five cubbies/shelves is a brown cabinet on the wall. Zoom in on the lock on its doors:

Use the upper buttons to change colors and the lower buttons to change numbers to input the correct color/number combination.

You'll need to piece together a couple different clues to solve this one...

HINT:

Study the paper found under the pink wig (in the rug) and the statues on the 5 cubbies/shelves.

ANSWER:

On the paper you picked up, the top shows four statues...under these statues are colored numbers.

First, you want to put the COLORS in the order shown on the statues...

RED - GREEN - YELLOW - BLUE

Next, put the numbers in order according to the colors shown on the paper....

9 8 4 1

Colorblind Help:

RED = 2 clicks

GREEN = 4 clicks

YELLOW = 3 clicks

BLUE = 1 click

With the correct color sequence and number code entered, click click the bottom button and the cabinet will pop open:

Inside is a BLUE BALL on the top shelf. Take it!

There's also a clue on the bottom shelf...look closer at it and note what you see for later.

Back up from the cabinet and turn around twice.

The Sun Box (four corner buttons)

Zoom in on the wooden box on top of the small white cabinet by the stairs. It has a sun (or compass) design on its lid.

Click each of the buttons in the correct order to open the box.

The clues to this are upstairs and in the cubby you opened earlier.

ANSWER:

Look at the squares on the black/white ornament upstairs and compare it to the statue inside the cubby. See how 1 3 are on the left? Look at the square in the same position on the black/white ornament...it looks like white is in the bottom left corner, right? So click the bottom left corner, first. See the 5 on the top position of the gold cross statue? When compared to the black/white ornament, that black is in the top left corner, meaning to click the top left corner fifth. And so on...

BL - TL - TR - BL - TL - BR

(TL=top left; BR=bottom right; etc.)

When you've pushed the buttons in the proper order, the box automatically opens. From inside, you can...

get the BUTTON.

Also make a note of the clue you see here...

The bird shape looks like something familiar.

You'll want to remember the position of each colored dot, too.

Back up from the white cabinet and take the stairs to the upstairs room.

The Grey Wall Safe (3x3 grid buttons)

Return to the room upstairs and examine the 3x3 grid on the grey safe...

It's missing a button in the middle, so use the BUTTON you found in the sun box to fix it.

With the middle button replaced, the whole grid lights up. Now you can click each of the buttons a number of times to change their color.

Enter the correct pattern of colors on the grid and press the rectangular bar to open this safe.

For the clues, think of the places where you've seen 3x3-like patterns that involve colors.

ANSWER:

Use the clue from inside the sun box to fill in most the colors. Then look under the statues on the five cubbies/shelves for the other four colors. That'll get you...

20 Comments

You are facing a locked door; it's the way out but you don't (yet) have the key. So, begin by turning left.

Now you face the start of a hallway. On one side is a set of cubbies, another is a cabinet and, in the rug, is a lump. Click on the rug lump:

Here's a little pink tail. Click on the edge of the rug to see what's underneath...

Now click on the pink wig...

Pick up the PAPER from on top of his head:

It's a clue. Note the symbols, dots and colors as well as the darkened square in the right corner. Then, put it away.

Back up.

Look closer at the 5 cubbies/shelves on the wall:

Four of the shelves each have a statue:

Note the shape of each statue, then look underneath for what is marked there.

Next, examine the top left cubby:

It needs a four digit code. That piece of paper seemed to provide part of the clue, but the clues we've found so far don't give us the correct code... we still need to look around for more information.

back up from the cubbies.

Examine the wall cabinet to the right of the hallway entrance:

First look in the two drawers:

Get UCHI NAKAGAWA 1 (of 9) from the left drawer.

Then check out the lock on the cabinet doors:

The top row of buttons change the colors while the bottom buttons change the numbers.

(We have enough information to open this cabinet but I'll include the solution a little later on in this walkthrough.)

Back up twice.

Go down the hallway into the kitchen. Here you see a shakey fellow wearing a horse mask. Let's ignore him and look in the kitchen sink by clicking the teapot area on the right:

Behind the faucet is another UCHI NAKAGAWA (2/9). Get him!

Back out of the kitchen area and turn left. Here you see a grey box with a smiley face, the opening to another part of the room, and another door. First examine the grey smiley face box:

Looks like you can push the smiley face like a button and there's room for three round objects so come back when you've found them.

Back up.

Go into the other part of the room to see a long cabinet with a tubes device on top. Explore all angles of this thing:

Notice that you can open all the cabinet's doors but you won't find anything underneath except, in the middle, a box that needs a key.

On top, there is a hole on the left end and top of the tubes.

There is a very distraught uchi nakagawa. If only there was a way to reach that red button!

Back up from the cabinet and turn left. Go through the door into another hallway. Now you're facing yet another door...open it to enter the shower area:

Move forward then click on the drain in the floor...

Click on the drain cover to remove it:

Pick up UCHI NAKAGAWA (3/9) from inside the hair-filled drain.

Back up twice and turn left just to see what's there.

Then go left and back out of the shower area.

Turn right to face the bathroom sink area. Click the sink to look inside:

Get the UCHI NAKAGAWA (4/9) who's brushing his teeth.

Back up from the sink and open the door next to it to see what's in the toilet area:

To the left of the two guys (whose conversation you rudely interrupted) is something useful...

Take the STICK.

After backing out of the toilet area, turn left twice to face the laundry nook:

Look in the basket of undershorts:

Under the first layer is NAKAGAWA (5/9) so take him.

Then, dig deeper because under the third layer of shorts is NAKAGAWA (6/9)!!! Get him, too.

Back up, turn right, back up out of the backroom, then turn right two more times to peek out the glass doors (just for the fun of it).

When you're ready, turn left and back up into the main part of the livingroom again.

Turn left until you're facing the stairway to the upper level of the house. Here you can also see a small white cabinet. Take a closer look at it:

Nothing is inside the cabinet's bottom door.

There's a wooden box with a sun design on top of the cabinet; it has a button in each of the four corners.

Look in the top drawer of the white cabinet:

Get the UCHI NAKAGAWA (7/9) who's snuggling with the doll.

Back up.

Go upstairs by clicking the stairway then clicking the top of the stairs.

If you press the panda man's button, though, you can launch the toga panda into the ceiling, too!

*If you've pressed the correct red button before getting this nakagawa, then you might find him on the floor, instead.

Turn left twice from the panda area to see a large golden statue (Psy?). Look closer:

Click twice to look inside the box at the statue's feet:

There are 18 foot-shaped marks on the box. Significant?

Back up then look at what the statue holds behind his head. Something red is up there:

Using the STICK, get the red item...

...it's a RED BALL!.

Back up from the golden statue, turn right, back up three times to go down the stairs, and now you're ready to start cracking codes and solving puzzles!

Upper Left Cubby (Wall Shelves)

Back downstairs, turn around until you're facing the lump in the rug. Then, zoom in on the five-cubbies/shelves on the left.

Enter the 4-digit code to open the cubby door.

The solution to this is pretty straight-forward (you saw it upstairs).

ANSWER:

The statue upstairs on the right pillar has four numbers upside down. Just turn them around to get...

5 4 1 9

Press the buttons under the numbers to change them to the numbers you want.

If you've entered the correct code, when you press the bottom rectangular button, the door will pop open:

Here is clue...some numbers on a cross-shape with a sun in the middle.

Click on the statue to turn it over and you'll see another clue underneath its base.

Make a note of what you see.

Wall Cabinet (4-digit color numbers)

To the left of the five cubbies/shelves is a brown cabinet on the wall. Zoom in on the lock on its doors:

Use the upper buttons to change colors and the lower buttons to change numbers to input the correct color/number combination.

You'll need to piece together a couple different clues to solve this one...

HINT:

Study the paper found under the pink wig (in the rug) and the statues on the 5 cubbies/shelves.

ANSWER:

On the paper you picked up, the top shows four statues...under these statues are colored numbers.

First, you want to put the COLORS in the order shown on the statues...

RED - GREEN - YELLOW - BLUE

Next, put the numbers in order according to the colors shown on the paper....

9 8 4 1

Colorblind Help:

RED = 2 clicks

GREEN = 4 clicks

YELLOW = 3 clicks

BLUE = 1 click

With the correct color sequence and number code entered, click click the bottom button and the cabinet will pop open:

Inside is a BLUE BALL on the top shelf. Take it!

There's also a clue on the bottom shelf...look closer at it and note what you see for later.

Back up from the cabinet and turn around twice.

The Sun Box (four corner buttons)

Zoom in on the wooden box on top of the small white cabinet by the stairs. It has a sun (or compass) design on its lid.

Click each of the buttons in the correct order to open the box.

The clues to this are upstairs and in the cubby you opened earlier.

ANSWER:

Look at the squares on the black/white ornament upstairs and compare it to the statue inside the cubby. See how 1 3 are on the left? Look at the square in the same position on the black/white ornament...it looks like white is in the bottom left corner, right? So click the bottom left corner, first. See the 5 on the top position of the gold cross statue? When compared to the black/white ornament, that black is in the top left corner, meaning to click the top left corner fifth. And so on...

BL - TL - TR - BL - TL - BR

(TL=top left; BR=bottom right; etc.)

When you've pushed the buttons in the proper order, the box automatically opens. From inside, you can...

get the BUTTON.

Also make a note of the clue you see here...

The bird shape looks like something familiar.

You'll want to remember the position of each colored dot, too.

Back up from the white cabinet and take the stairs to the upstairs room.

The Grey Wall Safe (3x3 grid buttons)

Return to the room upstairs and examine the 3x3 grid on the grey safe...

It's missing a button in the middle, so use the BUTTON you found in the sun box to fix it.

With the middle button replaced, the whole grid lights up. Now you can click each of the buttons a number of times to change their color.

Enter the correct pattern of colors on the grid and press the rectangular bar to open this safe.

For the clues, think of the places where you've seen 3x3-like patterns that involve colors.

ANSWER:

Use the clue from inside the sun box to fill in most the colors. Then look under the statues on the five cubbies/shelves for the other four colors. That'll get you...

Out...
...but had to use the hints for the color/figure code (quite not obvious...) and the red stamp
Damn... this one was not easy...
But as always, the puzzles are challenging...
And the all game leaves me with a lot of unanswered questions about the japanese collective unconcious... I mean, people there chat in lavatories, wear wigs, dress as bumblebees, dance like ballerinas, wear horseheads, lie under carpets... deliriously lovely !
And what about that "BBA in the dark" ?

Aw, I used to feel the same way about Detarou, but Detarou really grew on me. They've come a long way over the past, year, too. If I was giving awards for most improved, most creative escape game designer this year, it'd be Detarou. (Consider all the artwork and pop culture allusions alone!) I know some of Detarou's past entries are rather esoteric but there are many newer ones that, if you can be amused by�or at least ignore your repulsion of�the surreal weirdness that abounds in them, you could really appreciate and enjoy the logical, clever puzzles and design.

I'd truly recommend this one for sure. It isn't at all that ugly or gross, comparatively speaking, and has quite fun puzzles and exploration (plus it's fun to collect those little Nakagawas... "Gotta catch them all!").

Also, I hope you'll try Nandakana (which is nominated for best escape this year!) for being completely fun and very well designed.

Or give Gatiko a go for a good introduction to Detarou-style puzzles: it's on the easier side (yet, admittedly, more on the strange end of the spectrum).

@elle
First off: how do you do a direct reply in the comments section? Or is that only something the mods can do?

Second, I will agree that this game was much better than a lot of the Detarou games from the past. I actually solved many of the puzzles without hints or walkthrough.

There are a couple of things about Detarou's games that cripple my mind, I think. First, and I think I mentioned this before, when I see kanji, my brain turns off. I don't know why, I can't explain it, but when I see it all of a sudden my comprehension skills go out the window.

Also, I find the weirdness entertaining, somewhat. I'm not a huge fan of the art style, though.

Finally, I think Detarou's games are those that, for a person like me, you have to get into the mindset. Different game developers all have their individual styles, and you've come to know what to expect from them. I don't know Detarou's style yet (mostly because I skip his/her games a lot), but I will be sure to try more of their games in the future.

I'd be interested in hearing if/when you do start liking Detarou more, or at least not being disappointed if it turns up for Weekday Escape again. You might even become a Detarou groupie like me (I honestly still don't know how that happened. Some magic potion or charm Detarou worked on me?) Now I always jump up and down in a happy dance when I see a new Detarou game. It'll take a bit of practice but then they're just sheer fun. I think I especially love escapes with more laughs in them as Cogito Ergo Sum (Nyan and Wan!) is another of my favorites.

Right now, direct reply is something we do behind the scenes (more about what's quickest/easiest for me than anything else as I'm replying through the comments dashboard rather than the game's review page itself). I think I saw Jay mention he may implement that feature for the community at some future date...someday, maybe (that man works really super hard around here, though. I don't know when he ever sleeps!)

The black & white, uh, ornament, if we deduce (from divine inspiration, near as I can tell) that we want the white portions, can be labeled like so:
__BR__
BL__TL
__TR__

No matter how I combine these two things, the order I come up with is:
BL TL BL TR BR TL

So, what gives? What particular brand of insanity do I need to try to emulate to get this solution?

(I was crestfallen too when I saw Detarou featured in a weekday escape, especially when there's a new Tomatea game out. I mean, OK, Tomatea's is a Christmas escape, so it's a bit late, but it's still head and shoulders above Detarou.)

[Hi Reka, please check the walkthrough for an explanation that I hope will help. Regarding the WE selection: Tomatea's came out after I wrote up Detarou's plus (although this can be considered personal opinion) this is truly the stronger, longer, more flawless game. Even so, Golden Bell is coming very soon! :) -elle]

The location of the triangle "points" to which corner button you are supposed to push. For example, number 1 is white, and the corresponding square is on the left. The white section of that square "points" towards the left-bottom, so the left bottom button is 1.

thanks for a positive comment to my negative one.. i probably didn't deserve such a nice answer!

I am kind of turned off by what feels like surreal weirdness for surreal weirdness's sake rather than anything purposeful.. fine in a piece of interactive art but imo gets in the way when trying to solve and enjoy the puzzles. Also I've never found the puzzles to be be very logical/enjoyable, even with a passing knowledge of Japanese..

That notwithstanding I guess I haven't played any of the latest ones, so if it's true that detarou has improved as you say I'll give it another go I think.

I *like* Detarou's games, but to me his games are like the "gaiden" of Weekday Escape - they're more appropriate as the little bonus escape games we occasionally get between the actual Weekday Escape games. Even when they're as light on the weird (relatively speaking) as this one.

I adore the Detarou games, too. I always do a little happy dance (my husband doesn't understand...) when I see one come up. I've not yet managed to complete one without a walkthrough; I'm getting better at tying the puzzles together, but

some of the 'join-ups' like the sun-cross puzzle elude me!

Are there translations anywhere to the various Japanese signs that are in the different games? I know they don't make a difference to the game, but I'd love to know what they say...

Oh, this is maddening. I understand the clues to the sun box--and my understanding matches the explicit instructions in the walkthrough--but the box doesn't open. I swear I'm clicking in the right order.

Did you examine all the clues up close? The game won't let you solve a puzzle unless you've zoomed in on every clue involved. Maybe you saved your game prior to seeing the clues then, when you came back to it, you forgot to look at the clues again?

Maybe you can double-check that you did click them in the correct order (you might have to back up from the box and then zoom back in)....

Bottom Left - Top Left - Top Right - Bottom Left - Top Left - Bottom Right

Lately I have this technology curse. The mouse will stop working, or iTunes won't acknowledge that my phone exists.... Once I was working in Word, and Cut and Paste went away. Still on the menu bar, you understand, but greyed out. On strike. Taunting me.

The solution is always the same. My husband has but to lay his hands upon the keyboard, and the computer immediately toes the line.

I've been waiting for this since new years day!
The beginning of the month is always a joy because I love to laugh, and Detarou supplies the goods.
Plus, I'm not bad at solving without help, too.
So I get good self esteem from these games also.
The logic is flawless!
I used to regularly write walkthroughs for another site, specifically for the hard-of-humouring, to point out the hilarious side, but I retired since I can't post there any more.
elle, Thank you for being a "groupie" also!

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